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Why women shouldn’t smoke

According to The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website, smoking is the number one cause of death and disease in Ontario. It kills 13,000 people every year. And the province has developed a comprehensive Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy which combines public education with programs, policies and legislation to help smokers quit, protect non-smokers from exposure to second-hand smoke and encourage young people to never get on to the habit. But are these efforts working?

Ira Paliwal (name changed), works at an employment agency as a recruiter and is in her early 20’s. She began smoking in the tenth grade. She went through one pack of cigarettes in four days. “I picked up the habit very casually, tried it once in a while and did not realise when it became a habit. But to my credit, I worked on it and now I am an occasional smoker and smoke mostly during exams or socially,” she says.

“We have seen increasing numbers of women smoking and consuming alchohol in the South Asian community. Most of the girls we speak to and mentor say that this is their way of acting out against family norms and traditions that frown upon such vices,” says Baldev Mutta, Chief Executive Officer, Punjabi Community Health Services (PCHS). Butta says that it is essential for parents to talk about these issues with their children in a rational and patient manner.

The concern for smokers, especially women has grown in the community after research has shown that the habit affects women more critically than it does men. Toxins in cigarette smoke appear to affect women more badly, and the risk takes into account that women tend to get through fewer cigarettes than men.

It is estimated a record 15,600 women will die of lung cancer in the UK this year, which experts blame on women adopting a smoking lifestyle later than men in the 20th century – often as a way of controlling their weight – and being more at risk from smoking-related lung diseases at an earlier age. Read this story here

Although women have been quitting, it is at a slower rate than men and there is concern about the number of girls who start smoking in their teens.

Ira adds that she has shortness of breath all the time. “For my age, I should be in better health.” She says that there are very few people that don’t smoke and she feels the pressure.

On efforts made by government to discourage smoking, Ira says in her opinion, it does not do much for younger kids since they have different ideals. “They are not interested in advise by the government. Peer pressure overrides any advise against smoking”.

Twinkle Kuriat, a Mississauga resident, works in a café as a Customer Service Attendant says, “I tried one time, as a curious teen would. But thankfully, I did not want to continue for health reasons. Also, the fact that it is not acceptable socially, discouraged me from smoking. My advice would be to try and stop gradually. If that doesn’t work, seek out treatment methods like patches.”